Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Amanchu!
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BluExocet
 Posts: 64 Location: The High Mountain |
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*cough* I, uh... *tugs at shirt collar nervously* so how about that sports team? Joking aside, I did like ep.7 quite a bit. The perspective from Kotori was greatly welcome and I like her laid-back attitude towards school work (fighting that structured school system in her own way). Still unsure why the cat-thing is wearing pants though. |
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Valhern
 Posts: 916 |
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Loved this episode mainly on a visual level. There are two moments in which reflection is used in a very clever and fun way, Sensei's chibi face shown on the reflection of some silver orb in the train station, and while talking with Pikari, a train passes by, and up until that point we don't really see their faces, but the reflection of the other train shows their faces and Cha playing around.
On a thematic and story level, it's as good as the review implies. No scuba-diving, but still feels good as always.
It's a bit late to point out the oldest comedic routine Japan has, which is essentially hitting someone for laughs. It's as funny as it is harmful, so not much, actuallly. And by the way, the tsundere archetype just...doesn't go like that, she's more of a genki girl with a tough facade. A tsundere would have no purpose in an anime like this, anyway. |
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elux72
 Posts: 9 Location: Canada |
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'Genki', perhaps, but that implies a certain cuteness, to me at least, which I don't think this character has. At any rate, I hope the show continues to be enjoyable to those who enjoy it.
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Northlander
 Posts: 901 |
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She's a bully and an asshole, plain and simple. It's mortifyingly disappointing that a character like that exists in any works by Kozue Amano (though, admittedly, I've only really read Aria and Amanchu.) I thought the Izumo brothers from Aria had a somewhat mild unlikable streak, but Ai is just so much worse.
Erm... that's Ai from Amanchu, that is. Ai-chan from Aria is downright adorable. ^^;; |
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 9851 Location: Virginia |
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@Northlander & elux72
I'm going to have to disagree here. Ai is just a type of sibling. The physical stuff is standard Japanese slapstick and is likely used because this is a visual medium. Her attitude to her brother is simply the way some siblings interact. In reality her actions would be mostly verbal with non damaging hits. This is exacerbated by the Japanese tradition of holding one as the older brother or sister even in the case of twins. This gives her undeserved authority she abuses. Unfortunately since they are in school together there is no way to get away from each other. I agree she is annoying by but treating the over the top physical stuff as real is pointless. It is no more real than a single punch in Ranma 1/2 lifting someone thirty feet in the air. |
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elux72
Posts: 9 Location: Canada |
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Yes, I totally agree that that type of character and her behaviour is widespread, accepted, and standard, but it marred what was otherwise a watchable show for me, so I'm done with it. I would have been happy with nobody but Hikari and Futaba/Pikari and Teko, but we don't always get what we want.
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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I was actually enjoying this show immensely until episode 5. Next to Mob Psycho, it was my favorite series of the season, but now it's pretty low on my list. I'm sticking with it, but I don't know if I'll be able to just ignore Ai's behavior. I know this kind of slapstick comedy is common, but I've managed to avoid it in most of the stuff I watch, and don't really feel like I should have to just put up with it in a show that is supposed to be soothing and relaxing. I know it's mostly harmless here, and I've been able to look passed it in a couple of shows in the past, but it's unfortunately hard for me to ignore here, probably because the series is fairly down to earth in most other regards. I grew up in a family of 8, so I'm aware with how siblings act, but I never had a relationship with any of my siblings like this. I just wish her character wasn't here at all though, nor her brother actually. The relationship between Teko and Pikara, and the soothing atmosphere, is what I was watching for, slapstick comedy wasn't really something I was looking for to begin with. |
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Valhern
Posts: 916 |
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Then I have literally no idea how you guys managed to get to episode 5. Throughout all this season we've seen Sensei doing the same joke on Pikari, this latest episode in fact had the same joke. Hell, Teko COMMENTS on how the fact that they can joke like that makes it seem as if they are really close in episode...3, I think?
Like, if the slapstick comedy is what will you drive away from a show and you're avoiding it like a plague, you could have walked away a few episodes ago. Ai does basically the same joke, though the roles are ironically different. Pikari is energetic airhead, and Sensei is mature and cool teacher who hits her when she does something stupid. Ai is energetic and stubborn, while her brother is much more relaxed and cool and she hits him for being sort of lazy. By the way, I had only one brother and we would hit each other like that, so it's not weird at all for me. |
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Northlander
Posts: 901 |
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Alan: Disagree with me all you want. I'm going to call a spade for a spade in this case. It's not like I'm going to stop watching the show because of her, or even think of her as anything other than a black mark in an otherwise fine show, but.... no, I do not care how "accepted" or "typical" her behavior is. She dropkicks him. In his back. And that's just one of her many idiotic actions.
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9851 Location: Virginia |
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@Northlander
If it bothers you, it bothers you, that is your prerogative. However I think you are taking this much too seriously. That "drop kick" is a case in point. It is completely unrealistic. She is completely in the air from much too high. She hits him with both feet. Realistically that would be really dangerous to the person kicked. More to the point, after the kick she is completely off the ground with likely some of her momentum intact over an asphalt surface. The most likely effect would be serious bruising and scrapes akin to "road rash". A broken elbow would not be unlikely. Basically this level of violence is not real. I agree she is irritating and a distraction and could be done without. However, I'm more distracted by that damned imitation cat and the weird faces. Unlike the sibling violence they are likely to be present through the entire series. |
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relyat08
Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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Really? I may have just not been paying attention, I guess, but I really don't remember anyone beating up anyone until this girl showed up. Yeah, the teacher was a little abrasive, and I don't love her either, but I don't remember her beating anyone up... |
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Northlander
Posts: 901 |
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Alan: It is. That kind of behavior, particularly when done intentionally, is one of my biggest pet peeves in anime -- or in any kind of media, really, but it's especially prevalent in anime -- and it sticks out even more in Amanchu due to it otherwise being a healing/slice-of-life kind of a show. Even more so than in... say, Zero no Tsukaima, which is more like a show for those who like this sort of thing. I'm not saying Ai is as bad as Louise -- she's not -- but yeah, I don't like her very much. And I get the impression that the manga wants me to like her, or find her behavior endearing somehow, which is... puzzling, to put it mildly. Whether said bullying is realistic or not doesn't really enter into it; it's the intent that bothers me. (That, and she's not just attacking her brother. He just receives the brunt of it since they're siblings and see each other more often.)
Look, I'm not telling you to agree with me or care about what I have to say. She just gets me in a ranting mood. Nothing more. Also, compared to that, the cats are just... weird. My inner twelve year old keeps reminding me they have butts for faces, but I try to ignore that as best I can. Also also, Amanchu the Animation: please don't forget to include the storyline about Ooki's phone memory being full so that she wasn't able to take more pictures with it. That was an important part of her personality and character growth. I'll... I'll take Ai being an asshole in that particular story too. I'll deal with it. Just please don't forget about it. It took place before the events in episode 7, so I'm getting a little bit worried here. |
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switchgear1131
Posts: 219 |
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It was not a relay race, but a long distance run. They called it a marathon.
I for one really like Ai. She is a fun character and I think fits the show nicely. I liked the reactions she had all episode from the casual way she pestered her brother in the hallway to her reaction to the letter. She acts for the most part the way a typical older sibling might act. Being an anime some of her actions are of course exaggerated for comedic effect, but the older sibling pestering the younger one simply to pester them is something that can be expected from siblings, particularly ones at such a close age difference. When I started this series I was kind of iffy on it, but I've come to rather like its ensemble of characters. They all offer something different and interesting. |
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Kendra Kirai
Posts: 187 |
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I have to wonder how many of the people who don't like Ai are only children. Siblings screw with each other. It's just something that happens. I'm an only child myself, but most of my friends and relatives had brothers and sisters and every one of them were dicks to their siblings in some way. Lovingly so, but dicks nonetheless.
Expecting otherwise is....the idealism of the other side. The physical slapstick is just....slapstick comedy, which the japanese seem to embrace far more readily than the (current) American trend of being a sassy bitch for laughs. |
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Northlander
Posts: 901 |
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The awkwardness of the term "only child" aside (I almost read it as "You don't like Ai? What a CHILD you are!") yes, I am. I've had my share of friends who have siblings, though, as well as an uncle who were only seven years older than me, and by that extent, also sort of a big brother. Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, acted that out to the extent I've seen Ai do. Nor does Ai limit her abuse to her brother; she's apparently quite willing to attack people she doesn't even know if they anger her somehow, something which her brother even pointed out. Sure, it's nice that she didn't do anything this time, but she's going to have to do a lot more for me to stop viewing her as an irritant in this show. How does one be a "loving dick" anyway? Doesn't that contradict itself? Another thing that puzzles me is that Ai flat out said she was going to go punch some people (with the language of fists) in front of a teacher. Why did THAT not earn her any repercussions, like a week's expulsion or something? Is going around beating up the students -- especially the underclassmen -- allowed? |
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